Yrenicus Ban'dinoriel
Born and raised in Silvermoon, Yrenicus has walked the path of magic for all his life. His role with the Imperium changes constantly, and to some it can be hard to tell if he is in fact a friend or foe; even though he has been affiliated with Commander Akechi and his followers since long before the establishment of the Imperium. Yrenicus' physical appearance belies his actual years; his body is visibly affected by the arcane magics he has wielded in his life, and his hair has already lost its color. Normally, arcane magics do not age one's body this quickly, but clearly Yrenicus has been especially ruthless to himself in these practices, and handled magics that have finally taken their toll on him. No youthfulness can be detected in the way he carries himself either. He rarely smiles, and his eyes are usually coldly observing. At first glance, he might actually be mistaken for an old man. At heart, Yrenicus is well-meaning, but his actions have a tendency of not always reflecting that. Although intelligent, he really does lack much of the patience and wisdom that comes with old age, and while he is no longer as impulsive or rash as he once was, Yrenicus can sometimes still fail to anticipate the psychological response of others, or potentially negative outcomes of his actions. Some may be intimidated by the calculating way in which he tends to act, especially since he is willing to accept short-term suffering for long-term benefits, but in all fairness it should be pointed out that he is no more demanding or ruthless to anyone other than himself. He never hesitates to take responsibility for failure, but by contrast he rarely stops to take credit, treating success as something to be expected before he simply moves on to his next task or plan. The fact that he rarely stops to take pride in his work can likely be explained by his obvious talent and intellect; he has always known success to be the norm, and spoiled by it in the past he has somehow ended up devaluing it. However, his eagerness to assume blame is harder to explain. Someone used to success would be more likely to not really know how to handle failure, but Yrenicus shows signs of several emotional and psychological scars, and it is possible that he has a tendency of blaming himself due to something in his past. Background Yrenicus has a long and complicated history, and the memories of his past have often come back to haunt him in one way or another. In recent years he has managed to better come to terms with his past, but the painful memories are still there... Childhood Yrenicus rarely speaks of the olden days, and when he does he is intentionally as sweeping and vague as possible, but it is known that his childhood held great trauma, and sometime around the age of 7 he was placed in an orphanage. What happened to his parents, or who they were, is a topic Yrenicus would not speak of whatsoever. During his time at the orphanage, Yrenicus was a rather awkward child who never really got along with his peers. It’s not that he did not try to make friends, but, “accidents” usually befell those who got close to him, and this scared most of the other orphans away. But the young boy was not completely alone; another orphan, Zatria, a girl just one or two ears younger than Yrenicus, took a liking to him. She was the closest thing he had to a family, and the two elves quickly developed a brother-and-sister type of relationship. They spent almost every day together, and for a few years, Yrenicus was truly happy. However, nothing lasts forever, and it was eventually determined by the matrons that the “accidents” Yrenicus constantly caused had been a result of his latent arcane abilities. For such powers to manifest in a child so young was something extraordinary, and after matron Dalane sent a letter to the Convocation of Silvermoon – the ruling body in High Elf society, next to the king – it was decided that Yrenicus was to leave the orphanage for mage training at the famous Silvermoon Academies. It was there that Yrenicus left behind his true family name, now lost in time, to instead take the surname “Ban’dinoriel”. It was a nickname given to him by his tutors at the Academies, being Thalassian for “Gatekeeper” and referencing to his seemingly natural talent for magics involving teleportation and summoning portals. The name stuck, and Yrenicus chose to embrace it. Despite his hard training however, the young boy would constantly return to the orphanage to spend time with his little sister and, if time allowed, his favourite matron Dalane. And perhaps it was not surprising that Yrenicus would seek to go back so often, for he was still just a child, and his increasingly boisterous and impulsive nature was something that soon begun to annoy his tutors. But as much as they scolded him and tried to teach him patience, Yrenicus became rather arrogant due to his natural talent, and he did not want to wait to reap the fruits of his studies. After disagreeing one time too many with his tutors, and feeling that they were holding him back, Yrenicus finally dropped out from his studies at the age of 20. Troubled Youth Attempting at first to return to the orphanage, it became clear that things had changed. Zatria was now leaving that life behind, and Yrenicus was far too old to go back himself. But he still returned on short visits, for the sake of nostalgia and because he wanted to see his old matron again. He wasn’t yet old enough to understand, but with age he had taken a new sort of interest in her. The time he did not spend with Zatria or Dalane, however, was time Yrenicus spent as something of a drifter. He was a true delinquent, who had a hard time taking anything seriously – most of all authority figures. It wasn’t long until the young elf discovered alcohol, which in turn became a gateway to even further addictive stimulants. Reaching his late 20’s, Yrenicus seemed to finally be finding his way out of his addictions, with the help of his little sister who had made every effort to reach out to him. But Zatria wasn’t entirely successful… Now with time for other pleasures than drugs, Yrenicus instead began exploring his interest for women, and quite naturally it was Dalane he once again came back to – her being the only woman he had ever had some form of friendship with aside from his sister. It turned out that Dalane was quite easily wooed, for just as Yrenicus had started looking at his former matron with different eyes, she also had started looking differently at her former charge. While the age difference between them would not have been as significant as a similar one between humans or other short-lived races, it still presented something of a hurdle – especially considering the shared past of the two elves. But even so, a romance developed. Yrenicus was, however, while physically mature since many years, not mentally prepared for what he was getting himself into. Dalane must have known this on some level, for while she developed feelings for the young elf, her love soon turned into jealousy as she started to perceive Zatria as a threat. Zatria and Yrenicus were, after all, of a more similar age, and they were not actually siblings by blood. No, Dalane thought this was just some childish notion they had shared in their early years, and as such she was unable to see the significance that this obviously platonic relationship held even now. So blinded by envy, Dalane began to weave a web of lies to keep the two siblings apart. She wanted Yrenicus for herself, and would not compromise. For a time that was also what happened; Yrenicus moved in with Dalane and broke all contact with Zatria. This, however, took a serious mental toll on the young elf who was still fighting off several drug addictions, and as one might have suspected it lead him down into a new downwards spiral. After a while, even Dalane barely saw him around the house, as Yrenicus spent most of his time at various inns of competingly low repute. It was here that his sister finally found him, though clearly not prepared for what she found. Before her was no longer her brother, but rather a thistle fiend who cared only about his next fix. In quick strides, Zatria approached him, yelling at him, crying. He was breaking her heart, and she needed to have some form of intervention for him. However, Yrenicus was far from sober at the time, and barely even recognized her. So the two elves had a long, harsh argument that only continued to degenerate, until finally, in a pure fit of rage, Yrenicus unleashed a bolt of arcane energies at her. They were meant to intimidate, but as he was so heavily under the influence he lacked full control of his faculties, and the spell became far more powerful than intended. And when he came to his senses it was too late; Zatria’s broken body already lay in front of him. Assuming the worst, and not even looking if she was still alive, he stormed out of the inn and immediately handed himself over to the Silvermoon authorities. He pleaded guilty to murder, and was given a long sentence of jailtime. The experience had been a real wake-up call, and Yrenicus was ready to atone. During his prison time, he never heard from Dalane. She was feeling guilt over his demise, as well she should, and did not even write to him when she found out that she was bearing a child. The two never spoke again in this life, and the possibility of a happy life with a family was now a closed chapter for Yrenicus, never meant to be. Finding Adulthood Yrenicus’ jailtime extended over several decades, and he was only released around the time of the Second War, when Silvermoon needed every able-bodied man to aid in the war effort. Yrenicus was never part of the army itself, but rather stayed at home performing various jobs to keep society running. Neither when the Scourge arrived did Yrenicus fight. He had kept up his arcane studies, but the invasion had been so sudden that all he could do was flee along with the rest of his people that survived. After the Blood Elves’ resettlement of Silvermoon however, the Magisters finally grew tired of him. He was still considered something of a “loose cannon” as he drifted around the city, but times had changed; Silvermoon had become more totalitarian in its governance, and less tolerant of people like him. Presented with an ultimatum, Yrenicus was told to either work for the Magisters and aid them with his arcane abilities, or make himself useful for the City in some other way. They watched with some disappointment as he turned his backs on the path they had offered him, to instead remain in civilian life. But Yrenicus disapproved of the new government and especially the way the Magisters used their magic. While he could not express his dislike openly, he remained vindictive and instead sought work as a tailor in the Northern Bazaar. But Yrenicus couldn’t stop with his dabblings in the Arcane, and without proper guidance it wasn’t soon before he saw himself fired and out on the street again, after a “minor incident” in the tailor shop involving a transdimensional gate and a batch of leper gnomes. Recent Years It was around this time that Yrenicus heard of the Sin’dorei Commission. Feeling increasingly haunted by his past, and his inaction in the recent war which had created a new Silvermoon that he hardly recognized, Yrenicus decided it was high time to make something of himself. Joining the militia-like organization, Yrenicus rose through the ranks quickly and became a personal favorite of both Commander Paradiso and General Calliope Embershade. The young mage, in turn, became fiercely loyal to his superiors, and began to dabble in Fel magics to empower himself and consequently be of more use to the Commission. Watching all of this, Commander Paradiso finally decided it was time to reveal her true identity to Yrenicus, showing herself to be the Demon-queen Lilith worshiped by the cult known as the Shadowmenders. As he found this out, Yrenicus reassured Lilith that she still had his loyalty, and he even entered into a soul-pact with her, soon becoming an important figure in her cult as well. Yrenicus' service still belonged to Lilith even during the Time of Strife, where she was forced to depart for the Twisting Nether and Akechi Shadowstorm instead took command of her followers, reorganizing them into a mercenary faction known as the Blood Brokers. But Akechi and Yrenicus did not see eye to eye, the latter feeling that Akechi was forsaking his past. After some time this culminated in a final confrontation, where Yrenicus was slain and ascended to the Twisting Nether, his soul collected by Lilith who intended to finish his arcane training and then raise him to the rank of High General in her demonic army. Yrenicus remained in the Nether for almost a year, and was slowly being forgotten as the Blood Brokers became the Crimson Imperium, and had new internal struggles to contend with. But, more recently, Yrenicus has resurfaced, different in many ways from who he once was. He now keeps himself more distant from the Imperium leadership, and through the House of Nobles he seems to be working on a new grand scheme to support the growth of the resurfaced Shadowmenders under the leadership of Kalidasa. Working together with his son Tyros and his Blackguard, Yrenicus is also organizing an active resistance against the Sacrarium, having fought them long before they became a threat to the Imperium.